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The 2011 Handley Tigers opened the season coming off a 10-2 record and hoped to parlay last seasons wins into a trip to the Super Six championships in December. The last four years had produced a 44-8 record but the Tigers had not advanced past semi-finals in the playoffs.           The preseason Class 3A poll ranked the Tigers as the fourth best team in 2011. The schedule was tough with Clay County, Sweet Water, Leeds and Lineville on the slate in the regular season.           The offense returned quarterback Trae Kyles along with enough experience to make a deep playoff run. The Tigers could throw the football but the key would be a strong running game.

Heard County 0   0   0   13   13     Handley 21   0   7   20   48

Handley rolled up 436 yards of offense in a 48-13 rout of Heard County, GA. to open the season. The Tigers set the tone for the evening on the first play from scrimmage as Breyon DeBerry raced 68 yards for a touchdown. With 1:16 remaining in the opening period, quarterback Trae Kyles scored on an 83-yard touchdown run as Handley led 21-0.           The defense played well and did not allow Heard County to score until the game was well in hand.

Handley 22   14   7   0   43     B.B. Comer 0   0   0   14   14

Once again Handley jumped out to a big first quarter lead and coasted to win number two. They dominated B.B. Comer 43-14 after leading 22-0 after the first quarter and 36-0 at the half.  Quay Hunter scored two touchdowns on runs of 18 and 19 yards and Chris Dillard added a 1-yard run in the first period for the big lead.

Handley 25   12   7   7   51     Beulah 0   7   0   6   13

For the third week in a row, Handley dominated the first quarter of a game and led 25-0 as they cruised to a 51-13 victory over Beulah. They led 37-0 before Beulah got on the scoreboard as time expired in the first half. They reserves took over in the second half.            Duran Zachery scored by returning a fumble 30 yards for a touchdown Herbert Staples scored twice on runs of 10 and 57 yards in the first half and finished with 74 yards rushing on just three carries.

Clay County 0   6   0   7   13     Handley 7   7   0   6   20

No. 3 ranked Handley faced No. 4 Clay County in week four of the season and came away with a 20-13 win. The Handley rushing attack was the difference in the game as they rolled up 317 yards rushing while the Panthers only mustered 82 yards. The Tigers led 14-6 in the fourth quarter when Dejuan Clark raced 80 yards for the touchdown to increase the lead to 20-7 with eight minutes left in the game.           Clay County scored with 1:14 remaining in the game to cut the lead to 20-13 but an onside kick was recovered by Handley and the Tigers ran out the clock for the victory.

Sweet Water 0   7   14   6   27     Handley 0   14   27   7   48

The Tigers led 14-7 at the half but exploded for four third quarter touchdowns to break open a close game against 1A powerhouse Sweet Water. The Tigers racked up 449 yards rushing against the Bulldogs as they rolled to a 48-27 win. Breyon Deberry rushed for 201 yards on 14 carries and three touchdowns while Quay Hunter finished with 100 yards on 9 carries and the two more touchdowns.

Handley 0   14   15   0   29     Marbury 0   0   0   14   14

Once again the Handley ground game dominated in a 29-14 win over Marbury. They rolled up 399 yards rushing and led 29-0 after three quarters. The Tigers scored first on an 83-yard touchdown dash by running back Breyon DeBerry. Handley increased the lead to 14-0 on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Logan Taylor to Tevin Cook with 2:03 left in the second quarter.           Quay Hunter raced 20 yards for a third quarter touchdown and finished with 187 yards rushing on 17 carries. DeBerry added 158 yards on 12 carries.

Central Coosa 0   6   0   6   12     Handley 13   29   6   0   48

The only thing that saved the game from being more out of hand was the fact that both coaches agreed to shorten the second half as the Tigers rolled to a 48-12 win over Central of Coosa in Roanoke. Handley led 42-6 by halftime and coasted to their seventh win of the season. The offense racked up 399 yards rushing behind Hunter's 79 yards on five carries and Duran Zachery's 55 yards on just six attempts.

Handley 22   7   7   7   43     Walter Wellborn 0   0   7   14   21

The Handley Tigers scored on their first play from scrimmage as Breyon Deberry dashed 50 yards for a touchdown. The next time Handley gained possession of the football, quarterback Trae Kyles raced 43 yards for a touchdown on second down. Then Herbert Staples broke a 45-yard to score Handley's third touchdown in just four offensive plays to start the game.            The Tigers led 29-0 at the half and 36-0 before Walter Wellborn got anything going offensively in an impressive 43-21 win.

Leeds 0   0   0   0   0     Handley 0   20   20   6   46

The Handley Tigers wrapped up the Class 3A Region 3 championship with a very impressive 46-0 win over No. 4 ranked Leeds at Wright Field in Roanoke. The win ran the Tigers record to 9-0 on the season and 7-0 in region play. The win also extended the Tiger's home winning streak to a state leading 31 games.            After a scoreless first period, Handley scored three touchdowns in the second to take a commanding 20-0 halftime lead. The offense rolled up 381 yards rushing and added 65 more through the air. The defense did their part by holding Leeds to just 145 yards of total offense.

Handley 14   7   7   7   35     Lineville 0   7   0   7   14

Handley ended their traditional rivalry with Lineville in fine fashion with a 35-14 win. They also concluded a perfect 10-0 regular season. The ground game was in prime form as they racked up 409 yards while the defense held Lineville to just 79 yards rushing. Quay Hunter led the running attack with 143 yards on 24 carries and Duran Zachery added 126 yards on 16 carries.

Slocomb 0   0   0   0   0     Handley 6   15   0   7   28

With the offense struggling a little, the defense and special teams picked up the slack as Handley shutout Slocomb 28-0 in the first round of the playoffs. The Tigers rushed for 196 yards which was their lowest output of the season but the defense limited Slocomb to just 115 yards rushing and only 45 yards through the air.            A Handley interception set up the first score as Quay Hunter ran 19 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter. Trae Kyles tossed a touchdown pass to Hunter and Hunter also scored on a 2-yard run as the Tigers led 21-0 at the half. Staples added a fourth quarter touchdown to wrap up the scoring.

T.R. Miller 0   6   6   7   19     Handley 14   7   0   0   21

Mike Battles became to winningest coach in Handley history with his 70th win at the school as the Tigers defeated T.R. Miller 21-19 in the second round. After leading 21-6 at the half, Handley saw its lead shrink to 21-19 when Miller scored with 6:24 remaining in the game. The Tigers offense did their part by converting on two fourth down plays to hang on to the football the remainder of the game and preserve the victory.           Hunter led the rushing attack with 124 yards on 17 carries as the Tigers rolled up 322 yards rushing against T.R. Miller.

Handley 0   6   14   13   33     Washington County 0   0   0   7   7

The Handley Tigers led 6-0 at the half and pulled away from Washington County in the second half to advance in the playoffs with a 33-7 win. Breyon Deberry scored on a 28-yard return of a blocked punt in the second quarter as the Tigers took a 6-0 lead. Handley then marched 80 yards with the second half kickoff to take command of the game as Dexter Reese scored on a 37-yard pass from Artravian Kyles.

Clay County 0   0   6   0   6     Handley 0   7   6   0   13

The Tigers faced Clay County in a rematch of an earlier game for a chance to make the trip to Tuscaloosa for the Super Six championships. Quay Hunter scored on a 2-yard run just before halftime as the Tigers took a 6-0 lead into the intermission. Clay County came back to score with 2:30 left in the third but failed on the extra point to cut the lead to 7-6 before Handley countered with a Duran Zachery 50-yard dash to extend the lead to 13-6 with just 58 seconds remaining in the third.          The lead held up even as Clay County took to the air in the last stanza in an attempt to score. The win gave the Tigers a chance to play for the Class 3A championship after losing in the semi-finals in 2008 and 2009.

Handley 0   7   0   13   20     Madison Academy 7   0   7   0   14

The Handley Tigers were playing for a state championship for the first time since 1977 when the Tigers fell to Stevenson 17-16. In another close game, Handley scored the go ahead touchdown with 42 seconds remaining in the game to bring home the school's first state championship with a 20-14 win over Madison Academy in Tuscaloosa.           Handley scored with 3:53 left in the game to cut the lead to 14-13. The coaching staff decided to go for the win on a two point conversion try but the run failed and it looked as if Madison Academy would win the title. But, the ensuing onside kick took a weird hop and ended up in the hands of the Tigers at the Mustangs' 43-yard line. Chris Dillard scored the game winning touchdown on a one-yard run to put Handley ahead 20-14.           Lineman Bradley Bozeman and linebacker Chris Dillard were named to the first team all-state squad by the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Breyon Deberry was selected to the honorable mention team.           The 2011 Handley Tigers set a team record for wins in a season by going 15-0. They were the first Handley team to finish a season undefeated since the 9-0, 1940 team. They won a state championship in the very first appearance in a title game. Handley 2011 8/26 48 Heard County GA . . . . 13 9/2 43 B.B. Comer . . . . . . . . 14 9/9 51 Beulah . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 9/16 20 Clay County . . . . . . . 13 9/23 48 Sweet Water . . . . . . . 27 9/30 29 Marbury . . . . . . . . . . . 14 10/7 48 Central Coosa . . . . . 12 10/14 43 Walter Wellborn . . . . 21 10/21 46 Leeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 10/28 35 Lineville . . . . . . . . . 14 11/4 28 Slocomb * . . . . . . . . . 0 11/11 21 T.R. Miller * . . . . . 19 11/18 26 Washington County * . . 7 11/25 13 Clay County * . . . . . 6 12/1 20 Madison Academy # . . . 14 519 15-0 187 * Playoff game # State championship game 2011 Handley Tigers No. Player Grade   No. Player Grade 1 Dexter Reese 12   42 Kenny Seiffert 11 2 Breyon Deberry 12   45 Jacob Seiffert 9 3 Duran Zachery 11   50 Bryar Crockett 10 4 Chris Dillard 12   52 Connor Boyd 11 5 Dijion Williams 12   53 Andrew Owens 10 6 Herbert Staples 12   54 Blake Caldwell 9 7 Chandler McClain 10   55 Eric Phillips 12 8 Tevin Cook 11   56 Quentin Pitts 12 9 Demetris Foster 12   57 Caleb Kinsey 12 10 Marcellous Floyd 10   58 Colton Murphy 10 10 Sedrick Tucker 11   59 Bryan Cottle 9 12 Trae Kyles 11   60 Luis Velazquez 9 14 Logan Taylor 9   61 Quandale Trammell 10 15 Tevin Morgan 11   62 Quinton Rowland 12 16 Anthony Foster 12   63  Brandon Thornton 9 17 Zack Hall 12   64 Seth May 8 18 Coby Floyd 11   65 Josh McManus 11 19 Cody Foster 9   66 Hunter Fulgham 11 21 Quay Hunter 12   68 Doug Tucker 12 22 Bran Trammell 11   69 Matt Daniel 9 23 Dakelton Daniel 9   70 Beau Robinson 10 25 Dejaun Clark 11   71 Kolby Smith 9 26 Rashad Trammell 11   72 Allen Kelley 10 27 Jerreion Williams 9   73 Shane Adams 9 28 Eli Taylor 11   74 Steven Adams 9 29 Ryan Gunn 11   75 Shaquan Glass 11 30 Jadarian Foster 9   76 Will Tennant 11 31 Malcolm Phillips 10   77 Eric Velazquez 10 32 Dameion Ware 9   78 Brad Bozeman 11 33 John David Fordham 9   79 Keimon Sanders 12 36 Jerod Tucker 11   80 Marquise Watkins 10 39 Connor Smith 10   81 Todderick Burton 9 40 Will Lumpkin 8   83 Chris Johnson 9 41 Kelvin Kelley 9   84 Matt Wise 11

Amazing Seasons, a series on the greatest seasons in high school football history


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